What’s the problem with processed meat?

The additives that take meat from healthy to dangerous are known as nitrites and nitrates. These chemicals are added to processed meats to preserve them, prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, add a salty flavor, and give cured meats their pink or red color.

Since processed meats are high in protein and therefore a source of amino acids, adding nitrates or nitrites to them and then exposing them to heat provides a perfect environment for the production of these dangerous nitrosamines, and therefore dramatically increases cancer risk.

Processed meats also increase risk of other cancers

Back in 2015, the World Health Organization classified processed meats as a group 1 carcinogen, meaning there is sufficient evidence to prove that they cause cancer.

Health scares are ten-a-penny, but this one was very hard to ignore. The WHO announcement came on advice from 22 cancer experts from 10 countries, who reviewed more than 400 studies on processed meat covering epidemiological data from hundreds of thousands of people. It was now possible to say that “eat less processed meat,” much like “eat more vegetables,” had become one of the very few absolutely incontrovertible pieces of evidence-based diet advice – not simply another high-profile nutrition fad. As every news report highlighted, processed meat was now in a group of 120 proven carcinogens, alongside alcohol, asbestos and tobacco – leading to a great many headlines blaring that bacon was as deadly as smoking.

Mike Adams warned back in 2004 that processed meats cause colorectal cancer, brain tumors and leukemia. And in 2005, he warned that they increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 67 percent:

Consuming processed meats increases the risk of pancreatic cancer, says new research conducted at the University of Hawaii that followed nearly 200,000 men and women for seven years. According to lead study author Ute Nothlings, people who consumed the most processed meats (hot dogs and sausage) showed a 67% increased risk of pancreatic cancer over those who consumed little or no meat products.

The evidence is clear: It’s time to eliminate all processed meats from our diets. In fact, replacing all processed foods with fresh, unprocessed, organic fruits, veggies and meat is the healthiest choice we can all make for our future health.